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The setting is the bleak coast of East Anglia, where atop a sweep of low cliffs stands the small theological college of St. Anselm's. On the shore not far away, smothered beneath a fall of sand, lies the body of one of the school's young ordinands. — He is the son of Sir Alred Treves, a hugely successful and flamboyant businessman who is ... more »accustomed to getting what he wants -- and in this case what he wants is Commander Adam Dalgliesh to investigate his son's death. Although there seems to be little to investigate, Dalgliesh agrees, largely out of nostalgia for several happy summers he spent at St. Anselm's as a boy.

No sooner does he arrive, however, than the college is torn apart by a sacrilegious and horrifying murder, and Dalgliesh finds himself ineluctably drawn into the labyrinth of an intricate and violent mystery.« less

Top Member Book Reviews

A nice multiple murder mystery in the style of Agatha Christie set in England amid a Church of England seminary kicks off with an apparent suicide by one of the students. Nice character development that doesn't give away the murderer too early in the story. A nice description of the setting adds to the comfiness of the book and made me yearn to visit more of England. Some info of interest to art history buffs is included with the description of several pieces of valuable artwork the school owns and displays.
Senior investigator, Adam Dalgiesh, apparently is the main character of the author's series of who- done-its, but he didn't seem to me to be the character I would want to follow in additional stories. I found the priests, professors, and seminarians much more interesting than any of the police assigned to the case.